Van Aert wins in red at the sprint finish in Castelo Branco

The third stage of La Vuelta a España 2024 has concluded its journey in Portugal before entering Spain with a new sprint. After missing out on victory in the second stage, this time Wout van Aert beat Groves to raise his arms dressed in the red jersey as the leader of this Vuelta. The Belgian celebrates his first victory in La Vuelta in a season where it had eluded him.

Euskaltel and Kern Pharma are once again the most combative

The peloton faced the third stage of this Vuelta with a new leader after the active rest day they had yesterday. Ahead of them was a route of 191 kilometers that connected the Portuguese towns of Lousã and Castelo Branco. In the last stage in Portugal before entering Spain, everyone expected a sprint finish, as the stage only offered two challenges for the fast men of the peloton in the form of categorized climbs: the Alto de Teixeira, a second category climb, and the Alto de Alpedrinha, a fourth category climb.

Perhaps that's why nobody dared to attack. Once again, it was two of the invited teams in this Vuelta that sought the breakaway. And once again it was Luis Ángel Maté from Euskaltel and Ibon Ruiz from Kern Pharma who were the solo protagonists in yesterday's breakaway towards Ourem. This time, however, they at least found the collaboration of their teammates Unai Iribar (Euskaltel) and Xabier Isasa (KernPharma), who helped them open a gap in the peloton. Nobody behind had any intention of following them.

Only when the escapees had a three-minute advantage, Stefan Küng, Kasper Asgreen, and Victor Campenaerts jumped from the peloton. However, to prevent any major threats, the leader's group did not allow the attack of the three strong time trialists and after neutralizing them, they let the gap with the escapees increase to 4 minutes. Up front, Maté crossed the first mountain pass at the Alto de Teixeira in the lead. The always combative rider from Marbella, who will retire at the end of this season, claims the prize of wearing the polka dot jersey as the leader of the mountain classification, a jersey that was previously worn by the Swiss rider Stefan Küng. A good reward for the Basque team.

From then on, an overly ambitious Alpecin reduced the gap with the escapees to below two minutes until Visma Lease a Bike said enough and asserted its influence. Krusvik, a domestique for Kuss, positioned himself alongside the riders pulling the peloton and asked them to slow down 90 kilometers from the finish. From then on, the peloton eased off and the gap with the four escapees fluctuated between 2 and 3 minutes until they approached the intermediate sprint. Wout Van Aert, in the red jersey, won the sprint from the peloton.

Alpecin and Visma Lease a Bike shared control of the peloton in the approach to the final climb. Among the escapees, Isasa crowned the Alto de Alpedrinha in first position. The Basque rider decided to push ahead alone, but with the chase from behind, reaching the finish line and raising his arms seemed like a distant dream. Indeed, the peloton caught up with the Euskaltel rider with 20 kilometers to go.

With the peloton regrouped, the teams of the leaders and the sprinters took the lead. Unlike the arrival in Ourem, Castelo Branco was a more favorable finish for the pure sprinters, without any steep climbs. Campenaerts tried to break the group 1.5 kilometers from the finish, but the sprinters wanted the stage win. With 200 meters to go, Van Aert launched a powerful sprint first. Groves followed him, but could never overtake him. The Belgian raised his arms at the finish line dressed in red as the leader of La Vuelta, claiming his first victory in the race. Visma Lease a Bike, the dominant team last year, also opens their account.

For the next stage, the race leaves Portuguese lands and enters Spain. And with that, the mountains will also come. Stage 4 will take the riders from Plasencia to Pico Villuercas, in a stage where the riders will have to cover a route of 167 kilometers including four categorized climbs. From the start, the route will be uphill, with a second category climb and a first category climb in the first 50 kilometers, highlighting the ascent to Piornal. Presumably, the breakaway will be the main focus on these initial climbs before facing the demanding final climb to Pico Villuercas, with a 3-kilometer stretch on concrete and gradients between 15 and 16%.

Stage classification:

1. Wout van Aert (Visma)
2. Kaden Groves (Alpecin)
3. Jon Aberasturi (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
4. Arne Marit (Intermarché)
5. Pavel Bittner (DSM)

General classification: 

1. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike)
2. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) at 0:13
3. Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) at 0:15